QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago

M4.5 earthquake 274 km SSE of Amahai, Indonesia

Monday, October 9, 2006, 03:38:08 UTC · 5.710°S, 129.658°E

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 274 km SSE of Amahai, Indonesia on Monday, October 9, 2006, 03:38:08 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on October 6, 2006.

Magnitude
4.5
Light · mb
Depth
30 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

80 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

30 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,271 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 229 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 139 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 134 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 171 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 154 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 290 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 231 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 127 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 74 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 52 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 50 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1754M6.5

    Ambon Island

    18 Aug 1754 · 277 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1711M7.0

    Banda Sea

    5 Sep 1711 · 204 km away

    2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1950M7.6

    Seram

    8 Oct 1950 · 260 km away

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 134 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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